Companion experience

Abstract

Various embodiments provide a so-called companion experience in which content consumed on a primary screen can serve as a source for an automatic search that returns related content that can be presented on an auxiliary screen. The companion experience can be considered to reside in a layer that can be moved across different screens. The different screens can include different physical screens, such as those associated with different computing devices, or the same physical screen in which the companion experience would be rendered in a frame or sub-window.

What is claimed is: 
     
       1. A method comprising:
 displaying content on a first screen of a first computing device; 
 discovering, by the first computing device, a second computing device having a second screen in a proximity of the first computing device; 
 prompting, by the first computing device in response to the discovering of the second computing device, a user of the first computing device for display of a companion experience on the second screen of the second computing device, wherein the companion experience enables the content that is consumed on the first screen to serve as a basis for a web search for additional content that is renderable on the second screen of the second computing device, wherein the additional content is different from the content being displayed on the first screen of the first computing device; 
 receiving, in response to the prompting, a user prompt to initiate the companion experience on the second computing device; and 
 in response to the user prompt, transmitting information associated with but different from the content being displayed on the first screen of the first computing device to the second computing device to cause the web search and a resulting display of the additional content on the second screen of the second computing device. 
 
     
     
       2. The method of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the companion experience resides in a layer that is moveable between the first screen of the first computing device and the second screen of the second computing device, wherein discovering the second computing device enables communication between the first computing device and the second computing device, wherein the first computing device is interconnected through a central computing device to the second computing device, the central computing device comprising a server farm and a platform of web services including a search engine that provides searching capabilities across the Internet and across resources distributed throughout the server farm; 
 wherein transmitting the information by the first computing device to the second computing device comprises transmitting search-related information associated with the content as the content is being rendered on the first screen of the first computing device, wherein the transmitting causes the second computing device to:
 automatically send the search-related information to the search engine supported by a web service in the central computing device; 
 receive search results related to the content from the search engine in response to the search-related information; and 
 render and update the search results on the second screen of the second computing device. 
 
 
     
     
       3. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the search-related information includes one or more of media type, current content, or metadata associated with the content consumed on the first computing device, wherein at least one of the first computing device or the second computing device comprises one of a mobile class device, a computer class device, or a television class device. 
     
     
       4. The method of  claim 2 , wherein the transmitting further causes the second computing device to perform at least one of:
 subscribe to the first screen and listen for change events; or 
 query the first screen for new information associated with the content that is being consumed on the first computing device. 
 
     
     
       5. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the content displayed on the first screen comprises entertainment content or different content other than the entertainment content. 
     
     
       6. The method of  claim 1 , wherein the first screen is an integrated component of the first computing device. 
     
     
       7. One or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media comprising instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by a processor of a first computing device, perform operations comprising:
 displaying content on a first screen of the first computing device; 
 discovering, by the first computing device, a second computing device having a second screen in a proximity of the first computing device; 
 prompting, by the first computing device in response to the discovering of the second computing device, a user of the first computing device for display of a companion experience on the second screen of the second computing device, wherein the companion experience enables the content that is consumed on the first screen to serve as a basis for a web search for additional content that is renderable on the second screen of the second computing device, wherein the additional content is different from the content being displayed on the first screen of the first computing device; 
 receiving, in response to the prompting, a user prompt to initiate the companion experience on the second computing device; and 
 in response to the user prompt, transmitting information associated with but different from the content being displayed on the first screen of the first computing device to the second computing device to cause the web search and a resulting display of the additional content on the second screen of the second computing device. 
 
     
     
       8. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of  claim 7 , wherein the content displayed on the first screen comprises entertainment content or different content other than the entertainment content. 
     
     
       9. A computing device comprising:
 a display screen; 
 one or more processors; and 
 one or more memories having instructions stored thereon that, responsive to execution by the one or more processors, perform operations comprising:
 displaying content on the display screen of the computing device; 
 discovering, by the computing device, a different computing device having a different display screen in a proximity of the computing device; 
 prompting, by the computing device in response to the discovering of the different computing device, a user of the computing device for display of a companion experience on the different display screen of the different computing device, wherein the companion experience enables the content that is consumed on the display screen to serve as a basis for a web search for additional content that is renderable on the different display screen of the different computing device, wherein the additional content is different from the content being displayed on the display screen of the computing device; 
 receiving, in response to the prompting, a user prompt to initiate the companion experience on the different computing device; and 
 in response to the user prompt, transmitting information associated with but different from the content being displayed on the display screen of the computing device to a different display screen to cause the web search and a resulting display of the additional content on the different display screen of the different computing device. 
 
 
     
     
       10. The computing device of  claim 9 , wherein the companion experience resides in a layer that is moveable between the display screen and the different display screen, wherein discovering the different computing device enables communication between the computing device and the different computing device, wherein the computing device is interconnected through a central computing device to the different computing device, the central computing device comprising a server farm and a platform of web services including a search engine that provides searching capabilities across the Internet and across resources distributed throughout the server farm;
 wherein transmitting the information by the computing device to the different computing device comprises transmitting search-related information associated with the content as the content is being rendered on the display screen of the computing device, wherein the transmitting causes the different computing device to:
 automatically send the search-related information to the search engine supported by a web service in the central computing device; 
 receive search results related to the content from the search engine in response to the search-related information; and 
 render and update the search results on the different display screen of the different computing device. 
 
 
     
     
       11. The computing device of  claim 10 , wherein the search-related information includes one or more of media type, current content, or metadata associated with the content consumed on the computing device, wherein at least one of the computing device or the different computing device comprises one of a mobile class device, a computer class device, or a television class device. 
     
     
       12. The computing device of  claim 10 , wherein the transmitting further causes the different computing device to perform at least one of:
 subscribe to the display screen and listen for change events; or 
 query the display screen for new information associated with the content that is being consumed on the computing device. 
 
     
     
       13. The computing device of  claim 9 , wherein the content displayed on the display screen comprises entertainment content or different content other than the entertainment content. 
     
     
       14. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of  claim 7 , wherein the companion experience resides in a layer that is moveable between the first screen of the first computing device and the second screen of the second computing device, wherein discovering the second computing device enables communication between the first computing device and the second computing device, wherein the first computing device is interconnected through a central computing device to the second computing device, the central computing device comprising a server farm and a platform of web services including a search engine that provides searching capabilities across the Internet and across resources distributed throughout the server farm;
 wherein transmitting the information by the first computing device to the second computing device comprises transmitting search-related information associated with the content as the content is being rendered on the first screen of the first computing device, wherein the transmitting causes the second computing device to:
 automatically send the search-related information to the search engine supported by a web service in the central computing device; 
 receive search results related to the content from the search engine in response to the search-related information; and 
 render and update the search results on the second screen of the second computing device. 
 
 
     
     
       15. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of  claim 14 , wherein the search-related information includes one or more of media type, current content, or metadata associated with the content consumed on the first computing device, wherein at least one of the first computing device or the second computing device comprises one of a mobile class device, a computer class device, or a television class device. 
     
     
       16. The one or more non-transitory computer-readable storage media of  claim 14 , wherein the transmitting further causes the second computing device to perform at least one of:
 subscribe to the first screen and listen for change events; or 
 query the first screen for new information associated with the content that is being consumed on the first computing device. 
 
     
     
       17. The method of  claim 1 , wherein transmitting the information associated with but different from the content being displayed on the first screen of the first computing device comprises transmitting one or more of a media type, metadata, known queries, paid queries, or content pointers. 
     
     
       18. The method of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 displaying, prior to the discovering of the second computing device, the companion experience on an auxiliary screen of the first computing device different from the first screen; and 
 moving the companion experience from the auxiliary screen of the first computing device to the second screen of the second computing device in response to the user prompt. 
 
     
     
       19. The method of  claim 1 , wherein discovering the second computing device in the proximity of the first computing device includes at least one of infrared detection, Bluetooth detection, network awareness of other devices connected to a common network, or receiving a notification from a web service. 
     
     
       20. The computing device of  claim 9 , wherein the instructions, responsive to the execution by the one or more processors, perform operations further comprising:
 displaying, prior to the discovering of the different computing device, the companion experience on an auxiliary screen of the computing device different from the display screen; and 
 moving the companion experience from the auxiliary screen of the computing device to the different display screen of the different computing device in response to the user prompt.